On Thursday I had decided to run a little bit faster, just for one run, to get rid of the boredom of 9-minutes-plus recovery run after recovery run. So what do I do for the two following runs? I speed up even more. Sometimes I really don’t know what I’m doing.
It started with Friday’s effort. After the hills on Thursday I thought a tempo run would make a nice change. I also got a bit worried about that 5k on the first December weekend. My legs seem totally incapable of going faster than snails pace at the moment, and I wanted to manage at least one run at under 8:00 pace to get a bit more zip. It was pretty hard work though. Of course I tried to stay on the aerobic side of the equation, but it clearly showed that I have plenty of work to do in that department. I just about managed to get under 8:00 pace, but it really required some effort. And looking at my heart rate monitor wasn’t pretty, so I avoided that.
Today I set out later than during the week, which meant running in bright daylight for a change. After the customary initial shower the sun came out, what a nice surprise. But I didn’t really appreciate it at the time. I was pondering about yesterday’s run. I couldn’t quite get to grips with the fact that I really had to push myself for a mere 5 miles, and not even reach the pace I ran for 20 miles of the Dublin marathon 4 weeks ago. As a result of that, I didn’t get into a relaxed stride for the whole outbound leg of the course; it was a rather laboured effort. I checked my time at the turnaround point, and was surprised to see it at 32:30, which was just under 8:00 pace. Oops. I had planned to run slowly after the two previous “speedy” workouts. However, on the way home I suddenly felt a lot better, I finally managed to get into a relaxed stride, and when I came back home I realised that I had actually managed to speed up rather than slow down, even though it felt much easier. How do you explain that? Maybe a few of the faster fibers in my legs have finally woken up from a 4-weeks slumber, and decided to help out? Whatever the cause, I’m much happier with this effort than Friday's.
Even with that improvement, next week’s 5k comes much too early for me. I still intend to run it, not least because it might give me the chance to finally meet Sarah, Philip and Liam, after I managed to miss all three of them at the marathon. It might even give Niamh the chance to see me at the finishing line of a race, though I would prefer that to be in a race that I’m better prepared for.
As for bloglines: I know that my blog has stopped updating the bloglines feed, but have no idea why. I also noticed that one or two other blogs I read have the same problem. I contacted bloglines, but haven’t got an answer yet. I’ll keep you posted.
24 Nov: 5 miles, 39:37, 7:55 pace, avg. HR 166
25 Nov: 8.25 miles, 1:04, 7:49 pace, avg. HR 162
Consecutive Days of Rainy Workouts: 12
Some updates are still showing for you on my list, I've just been bad and not popped by. Not really bad, just very busy.
ReplyDeleteWith the new job and extra hours on my PC all day at work, lately I just don't feel up to spending the time on it at night.
Today I'm trying to catch up a bit, but being this far behind doesn't make it easy.
Sounds like the 5K will be fun for meeting bloggers and having Niamh see you finish. I bet you'll be fine. Sounds like our rain might turn to snow.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about bloglines and I don't see you showing up. Don't worry about the speed for the 5k, the legs 'will' come around when the time comes. Try a few strides just to loosen things up instead of longer efforts.
ReplyDeleteMaybe with your great training for the marathon, your slow fibers have proliferated beyond control and have taken over your fast fibers. Or maybe you are still just recovering from the marathon. Good luck with the 5k next week.
ReplyDeleteAlso btw - it seems that I can only post comments to your blog and no one else's. Sorry if you get more comments from me than expected.
ReplyDeleteyeah, i agree with bapp. don't under estimate how long it can take to recover from a marathon - especially one as fast as yours just was...
ReplyDeleteYour blog updated for me today, but I have had problems with more than just yours. It usually takes me awhile to realize that I have not seen an update and go check things out on my own.
ReplyDeleteYou finally showed up with 25 posts today so something's working. If you're looking for a "sharpening" workout to help the legs to come around you might consider a mile or two (at the most) of those 50-50's. While they feel a little tough while you're doing them, the fatigue seems to evaportate once the mile or so is over. Just a thought and something new to possibly try
ReplyDelete(Bloglines contained your updates.)
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this post. I ran on Saturday for the first time since the marathon (6 days ago) and went out too fast (under 8:20s) and felt so out of shape. I guess that's why we have to start from week 1 and go through all of the training for each marathon. Non-runners seem to think that once we've trained for 1 marathon - we're set. Yeah right!
I've had similar problems with bloglines lately--plus one or two blogs just disappeared from the list! Good work on the speed, too. Have fun at the RBF meetup
ReplyDelete